Conclusion:
01 Nov 2001
The industry is again headed for a hit, after the terror attacks. Worldwide, the hotel stocks are out of favour. The Indian tourism industry is also expected to see a contraction in revenues in the current year. As per the reports, the ITC group of hotels has already registered many cancellations by international customers. October and November are considered to be peak season for the tourism industry. Most hotel chains derive 60 per cent of their business from European, American and Japanese clients.
Now with the downturn in these economies, tourism business is likely to be on the lower side in the next two months. As per some reports, 20 per cent of the existing domestic ticket bookings have already been cancelled. Also, devaluation in the Indian rupee is making foreign travel expensive for Indian travellers. In the long term, the hotel industry in India has a latent potential for growth. This is because India is an ideal destination for tourists as it is the only country with the most diverse topography. India attracts approximately 2.5 million tourists every year, which is just 0.4 per cent of the world tourist arrivals. Countries such as Thailand and Malaysia attract thrice as many tourists.
Conclusion:
Globally, leisure and entertainment are seen to be growing industries. Stable socio-political and economic conditions, coupled with an improvement in infrastructure facilities (like roads and airports), will improve the sentiments of the tourists towards India. If the above conditions are met, tourist arrivals can increase substantially from the present levels. In such a situation, there will be a surge in demand for rooms in tourist destinations.
